This unit provides an introduction to the concepts and practices of human resource management within the United Kingdom and focuses on the management of recruitment, retention and employment cessation.

• Unit abstract

Recruiting and retaining staff of the right caliber contributes to the achievement of organisational purposes. Staff must make a valued contribution to the work of the organisation. Eventually they will leave, more often than not because they find alternative employment or retire. Occasionally, however, employment has to be terminated. This unit considers how human resource management deals with these aspects of working. However, the focus of human resource management has moved beyond personnel management towards a more proactive approach that, in addition to the traditional roles associated with staff management, also considers how to get the best people and the best out of people so that they work in roles and ways that are closely aligned to organisational objectives. This often leads to the assertion by many senior managers that ‘Our employees are our most valuable resource'.

Human resource management takes place against a background of organisational needs, policies and procedures that are themselves shaped by legal and regulatory requirements. The unit therefore gives consideration to the national and European legislation that has, for example, seen the introduction of a range of anti-discriminatory